Living A Rough Life
by Pennywise the dancing clown
Summary: AU. What if Soda and Pony didn't end up with Darry? Follow them and their sister Mary their life in a foster home. Thanks to Itxsoundsxsoxsweetxfor her awesome skills.
1. Chapter 1

A/N Constructive criticism and flames are welcomed and appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton!

Pony, Soda and I stare out the window of our new foster home watching the rain fall out of the bleak gray sky and the pitter patter against the window. I am standing by the window while they sit on the couch. My brothers and I do not like it here because of the lonely feeling that sits uneasily in the house. Our foster parents leave us alone to do what we want to. Most kids would enjoy this. We, however liked it when our parents did stuff with us.

We wish that the state let us stay with our older brother, Darry. He would make sure things didn't turn out like this. I turn to glance at my brothers. I really don't know how Soda feels about all of this since he is seventeen and Pony and I are only six. He use to grin, laugh and bake cakes with Mommy and play with us but now he looks sad all the time and doesn't play with us much anymore. I'm not sure he likes to bake cakes anymore.

Pony gets up off the worn couch to come and stand with me by the window. He really thinks Mommy and Daddy will be back. I kind of hope deep down inside that they will too, however I know that they most likely won't. I sigh and straighten his worn out gray shorts and white t-shirt that used to be Soda's. I put my arms around him waiting for Soda to join. Instead, he gets up and turns on the small TV. Pony and I just stand there hugging each other. I try to fight back the tears but fail.

My head hurt and I was hungry. I didn't want to say anything. I feel bad that Soda has to do everything for us. My stomach didn't hear me telling it to stop growling and Sodapop looked up at me. I bit my lower lip to stop crying. I didn't want to say anything.

Soda goes into the kitchen to find something to fix me and Pony for dinner which would be peanut butter and jelly with milk. I can't remember the last time our foster parents went grocery shopping for us and brought us something other than this to eat. Our foster father drinks all the time except when the nice lady from the government decides to stop by for a visit. He would never hit us or anything, but him and our foster mom fight all the time.

He gets violent with her sometimes, which makes us go upstairs and we sit in our rooms. Sometimes the fights get so bad that we sit in our rooms for a whole night. It's scary to think about him hitting her because you never know if they are going to come in and hit you next. Whenever things do get bad I just try to think of Mommy and Daddy who I am very close to and I never will forget. They always made sure my brothers and I never went without anything and that we would all be taken care of. But here, things are different. We don't get much of anything.

I hear Soda mumble at night about how our foster parents are only doing this because they get money from the state from us. I really don't know all the details and I'm sure I don't want to.

"Mary Elizabeth and Ponyboy Michael, how long are y'all going to stare out the window?" Soda says, breaking me from my thoughts. Running my fingers through my dirty blond hair, I focus my blue eyes on him. Grabbing Pony's hand, we walk over to the couch and climb on it.

"Come on you two. Come sit at the table. We don't want to get peanut butter all over the couch." Pony and I walk into the kitchen and step on dry cereal which Pony had dropped all over the kitchen floor this morning and didn't pick up.

"Pony honey, you were supposed to pick up your mess this morning." Soda says calmly. Pony ignores him and he sighs as he bends down to pick it up.

"Soda, after we eat can I go play at Karen's house because I'm tired of playing with boy's," I tell him and Pony sticks his tongue out at me.

"Pony, Karen is my best friend and I can play with her if I want to!" I said with a cry.

"Mary, you and Pony better knock it off or I am going to send y'all to your rooms," Soda warns us. I shut up and put my plate in the sink.

"Please can I go to Karen's Soda?" I beg, throwing my arms around my big brother. Soda shakes his head no.

"Why can't I go Soda? Pony always gets to go to Steven's house," I whine.

"Well, we have to clean up the house so the foster parents don't yell as much tonight," Soda answers.

As soon as we are done eating, Soda finishes most of the house chores, while Pony and I clean our rooms. Our new mommy and daddy like to have things neat when they get home. I hate the way we are living now with hardly any food or toys. I hope someday Darry will get permission to take care of us and finally get us out of here.


	2. Chapter 2

Some nights my brothers and I lie awake and wonder why Darry decided not to take custody of us and send us to this horrible place. We often wonder if we did or said anything wrong to make Darry not want us because he just gave us up with no questions asked. because He said he wanted to go to college and make a life for himself and my hope is that someday maybe he will come to get us.

But days have come and gone so and Darry is still at home and we are stuck here living with Lucille and Robert Williams for now. I sit and ponder ((use wonder)) wonder about the whole Darry situation while I am cleaning my room. After I am through with my room I go to check and see if Pony has cleaned his room. As soon as I get in there Pony has everything shoved under the bed where he thinks Lucille or Robert won't find it. But he and I both know what happens when he gets caught.

Sighing loudly, I go under Pony's bed and start pulling things out from under his bed so he doesn't get in trouble for it. Then we go into the kitchen to get the trash can so we can throw all of Pony's school papers away. Neither Robert nor Lucille ever pays attention to our school work. The only thing they pay attention to is when we get our report cards and if we get bad grades. If we get bad grades we get in trouble.

The only thing the parents ever do is ground us for a long time and that is about it which drives us crazy. But it's not like we listen to them anyway because most of the time they are either fighting or drunk. When they are not around, Soda lets us play outside with our friends. If Robert catches us out side he just yells at us and adds additional time to our punishment which I hate.

Robert also gives us extra chores around the house to do which is super boring. It's not like we already don't have enough chores to do as it is. Right now we are annoyed as it is cleaning our rooms and here I sit helping Pony clean his so he doesn't get in trouble with Robert.

It takes Pony and I a good and long hour to get his room in tip top shape before they come home and have something to yell about.

We go back out into the living room to look for Soda to see what he is doing. When we get down the hall we can hear him in the kitchen washing the dishes so we go in there. kitchen where he is at. He turns to look at us and almost drops a glass onto the floor. Boy, would Robert and Lucille be mad if they knew one of their dishes came up broke.

"Mary Elizabeth, have you and Pony finished cleaning your rooms up yet?" Soda asks. He begins drying the dishes and putting them up.

"Yes, we are done," Pony tells Soda. He hides a grin.

"What is so funny Pony?" Soda laughs.

"Because I hid things under my bed again that's why," Pony giggled.

A nervous feeling forms in the pit of my stomach.

"Ponyboy Michael, you better have got all of the trash under your bed thrown away young man," Soda warns. Pony then hugs Soda.

"Soda, I cleaned my room and didn't hide anything under my bed," I say with a gap toothed grin. I lost my other tooth yesterday.

"That is very good and I am very proud of you, Mary," Soda says proudly.

I smile at the calender and wonder when Santa will be coming.

It is almost time for Santa to come but I seriously doubt he will come anyways because Robert will tell him that we are bad. What have we done that was so wrong to get treated the way we do? Are we that bad? Surely I think we aren't but our daddy once told us when grown-ups drink beer it makes them do a lot of bad things. I will never drink beer when I grow up and I hope Pony or Soda doesn't either.

"Soda, the tooth fairy didn't come to visit Pony and me _again,"_ I say in an annoyed voice.

"Yeah, were we bad Soda?" Pony asked. Soda just sighs.

"No, you two are not bad it's just sometimes that is the way things are for some people." Soda answers.

Soda puts his arm around me but I still feel very sad because I put my tooth under my pillow and the tooth fairy hasn't come to see me yet. I really can't figure out what I have done because I have tried to be a good girl. But I guess for some reason the tooth fairy won't come here.

Pony and I sigh and sit down at the kitchen table. We hope that Soda will be done with the house chores soon so we can sit around the fireplace and talk. That is one of the things we like to do since we have come here is to sit by the fire. Whenever there is marshmallows we sit and roast them at the fireplace.

We do not ever know when Robert and Lucille will come home because they just come in at any given time. We never know where they have been. But we know for a fact that we smell beer or whiskey on their breaths. Soda says they go to a place called Buck's.

Pony and I watch Soda get up and go to look through the cabinets and the fridge. They are both almost bare and there is only half a loaf of bread and a can of corn in the cabinet. Soda scowls and looks in the fridge only to find a couple of bottles of Pepsi and a bowl of leftover pork and beans. It is so frustrating sometimes because before we came here we never knew what it was like to go hungry.

"We are going to have to find a way to round up some money for groceries because this is ridiculous!" Soda half yells. He slams the fridge shut.

He then sits back down at the table seething with anger. By now he is breathing hard so Pony and I go to hug him. We can't stand to see our brother sad and angry all the time. Soda is a very sweet person and he doesn't deserve what is happening right now. I really don't think that Robert and Lucille deserve to have children if they can't take care of us or feed us.

Right now Soda is really sad because he wants to be with Darry and Darry didn't take us. Soda is very upset about it and right now he is trying very hard to pull it together for Pony and I. We know he wants to scream and cry very badly but he won't let himself. So, to cope with his anger and to keep from losing it, he takes care of us and helps Pony cope with his nightmares.

"Soda, we love you." Pony and I say in unison. He smiles tearfully.

"I love you too guys," Soda says in a choked up voice. A tear rolls down his cheek.

We all get together in a group hug and then later we go sit by the fire and play cards. Pony has beat Soda in two rounds of Go Fish. We love that card game because it keeps us distracted from our problems here. By now we are all laughing and our sadness is forgotten for the time being. Later on we play a card game called Slap Jack and by then we are laughing so hard we can't control ourselves.

"Soda, can we play poker?" I ask. Soda shakes his head.

"No, not until you're at least fourteen or fifteen because you are too young, honey." Soda says with a grin.

It makes me happy to see my brother grin because it is so not like Soda to be sad. We love to see him happy because he does things with us and I think he misses his friend Steve. We hate living in Oklahoma City because we miss the gang. I especially miss Two-Bit because he always makes me laugh with his funny jokes.

"Okay, we will just play Slap Jack then." I say. Soda shakes his head.

"Good idea," Soda agreed. We play cards until it was time for dinner and then Soda heated up a can of pork and beans for Pony and me.

"Are you going to eat anything Soda?" I ask. Soda nods.

"I will have some Pork and beans with you kids," Soda says. I know he is hungry.

Pony and I watch Soda heat up the beans on the gas stove while our stomachs growl. The peanut butter and jelly sandwiches have already gone and now our stomachs rumble with hunger. We wish for Darry because he can also cook pretty well because our mommy taught him. Mommy always made the best meatloaf and lasagna when she was alive.

As soon as the beans are done Soda fixes our plates and brings them to the table. We put salt and pepper on them and begin to eat. Right now we are desperate to eat anything because we hardly have anything and so we will take anything for the time being. Soda, Pony and I eat dinner by candle light to make dinnertime more cheerful for us.

"Are you kids getting full yet?" Soda asks with concern in his voice. We nod.

"Yes, we are almost full," Pony replies. Soda pats Pony on the head.

"Is it okay if we play hide and go seek?" I ask. Soda shakes his head.

"Not tonight Mary Elizabeth because we have school tomorrow which I really don't want to go," Soda says glumly and sighs heavily.

"Why?" Pony wants to know.

"Because I want to get a job and take care of you guys," Soda replies.

"Oh," Pony says.

Soda then cleans up our messes and we go into the living room to watch TV until it is time to take our nightly baths. As soon as eight-thirty rolls around we get in the bathtub. Pony and I play in the bathtub until Soda comes up to tell us to get washed.

"Soda, we want to play a little while longer!" Pony whines. Soda shakes his head.

"No, it is almost time to go to bed and we have school so no," Soda says firmly.

"That's not fair!" Pony wails. He crosses his arms and pouts.

"Ponyboy Michael, you need to get washed right now," Soda says firmly. He hands us each a wash cloth.

Soda begins pouring the cup of water over our heads until we are fully wet and then we get our hair washed. Then we get bathed and get out of the tub. Soda then hands us a towel. We dry off and slip into our pajamas while Soda combs our hair. As soon as we're through we go into my room and lay on my bed. Soda reads. Pony and I a bedtime story.

He doesn't get all the way through it because we are by then fast asleep. He then kisses us goodnight and carries Pony to their bedroom. Soda crawles in bed with Pony and then they are fast asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning**,** Pony and I walked into the living room and we see Soda in the living room staring out the window. As soon as he sees us he holds out his arms for us to come and hug him. We hug Soda and then we wonder what is for breakfast. We know for a fact that isn't going to be a good breakfast like ham and eggs like we used to have**;** maybe peanut butter on a hunk of bread or something like that.

We then begin to look for money around the house by looking under the couch cushions. We find two quarters and a dime which is good. Pony and I go back to our rooms and look in our piggy banks and we each find four quarters which is really good. We are so excited**;** we race back downstairs and run to Soda to show him the money**.** Soda's face lights up and he hugs us.

Pony and I are glad that we didn't spend our money at the candy store before we left because we knew we would need it. Mommy or Daddy wouldn't let us go to the candy store very much anyway. We grin and hand the money to Soda and he gladly takes it and adds it up. We now have two dollars and sixty cents to buy breakfast. Pony and I run to our rooms to get dressed.

As soon as we are dressed**,** we run back downstairs to Soda**,** but our hair is still a mess after laying on it. We begin jumping up and down with excitement while Soda searches through his wallet and finds another dollar, which makes us evenhappier. We then begin looking out the window for signs of Robert and Lucille to show up but they don't. We don't even know when or if they will be home.

"Mary and Pony, you kids need to brush your hair and your teeth okay?" Soda tells us. We groan.

"Soda, we're hungry and we want to go to the store," I whine.

"Mary, I know but your hair is a mess and Pony doesn't even match," Soda informs me.

"Okay, I'll go brush my hair and Pony will change," I groan.

"Good," Soda tells me. He scoops up the money and puts it in his pocket.

As soon as we are done**,** we run back into the living room and then we head to the store. Soda takes each of us by the hand and we walk down to the grocery store, which is only two blocks from our house. As soon as we get there we are actually excited to see all of the food. My mouth begins to water as we walk inside but I try to control myself while we are shopping**.** Soda pulls out a cart and then we go to the dairy products.

When we get to the dairy products**,** Soda tries to get whatever is cheapest because we only have a few dollars to spend. The few dollars will buy quite a bit of food for us for a couple of days at least. As soon as Soda picks up the cheapest carton of eggs**,** he goes to the milk and orange juice. Pony and I love orange juice, which we haven't had for a long while**.** After that we go around to bacon and pick some up.

After we get the bacon we go around to the pancake mix but then whenever we get there we get a big surprise. Robert and Lucille are buying beer. Pony and I gasp and try to hide behind Soda, who looks scared out of his mind but tries to hold it together while in the store and in front of us. We quickly dart around the corner and out of sight**.** Soda now looks terrified and hurriedly rushes us to the front of the store to pay for our things before Robert and Lucille happen to see us**.** Then**,** we dash out of the store and run down the street towards the house.

Pony and I are now crying loudly as we run home and Soda is trying to shush us and tell us it is ok, but we are convinced that Robert and Lucille had already seen us and are now coming home to punish us. We don't know how just yet but they will definitely punish us someway or somehow because Pony and I could have sworn that we saw them glance as we are running from them and little do we know how right we are.

We now see Robert and Lucille heading around the corner and as soon as they see us they are really angry, Robert grabs Soda and shoves him in the back seat of the car, and then he grabs Pony and me to do the same. By now we are crying loudly. Robert scowls angrily at us and grabs the grocery sack out of Soda's hand and places it in the front seat, Pony and I glance over at Soda who is trying to keep his nerves under control for the sake of Pony and I. We also know he wants to cry but he won't.

Robert is muttering curse words under his breath while speeding the car down the street and around the corner, then to the house. Lucille is glaring at us the whole time. As soon as Robert pulls the car up in the driveway he yanks first Soda, then Pony and me out of the car.

"Get the hell out of the car and get your asses inside right now," Robert orders sternly. We obey and go inside.


End file.
